Volkner Goes to a Party
by Kiashi Sirius
Summary: Discontinued.
1. Chapter 1

Note from the Author: This will eventually be a RileyXVolkner fic, so please, if you don't like it, don't read. That's why we have back buttons.

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Volkner Goes to a Party

"C'mon Volkner, it'll be fun!"

"No."

"Why not? You've been so grumpy lately, so a party will be perfect to lift your mood!" Flint attempted to pull Volkner to the train station, but Volkner resisted.

"I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm not in a party mood right now."

"But Volkner, Candice is gonna blame me if you don't come! He wanted ALL the gym leaders there! And, well, technically, I'm not invited, so you have to go so I can!"

"Flint, I said no."

"It's not like you have anything better do!"

"And what if I do?"

"Like what? Sit and sulk in your little emo chair at the gym?"

"…maybe." Flint sighed exasperatedly. Volkner could be so stubborn sometimes. Then he got an idea. He let Volkner go as he grabbed a pokéball from his belt.

"Fine, if you won't go willingly, I'll just have to drag you there myself. Infernape, get him!" he commanded, throwing the pokéball.

"Wait, wha-" Volkner exclaimed, eyes slightly widened. Infernape lifted him up and held onto him, keeping his arms immobile by his side. Flint grinned triumphantly and marched up to the ticket person, who looked rather alarmed.

"Flint, tell Infernape to put me down!" Volkner shouted helplessly.

"Nope. Two tickets for Snowpoint City please," he said to the ticket person, grinning a little too much.

"You, ticket guy! Help me out here! I don't want to go! Don't let him force me on there!" The ticket man looked at Volkner squirming and smirked evilly. Maybe if Volkner didn't black out the city twice a week, he would've helped the poor guy out.

"Two tickets for Snowpoint City, sir! Enjoy your ride!" he said cheerfully, handing Flint the tickets.

"Thanks. C'mon Infernape, let's go."

Volkner had resigned himself to this party, though he wasn't happy about it at all. At least once the train ride began, Infernape let go and went back inside its pokéball. He occupied his time by sulking and glaring and Flint. If looks could kill, Flint would be a smoldering pile of ashes. He was pleased to note that Flint looked at least a little nervous about being around the pissed off gym leader.

When they got off at Snowpoint City, Flint had the sense not to drag Volkner around. Volkner followed on his own, still glaring at the back of Flint's head, though with less force. He was more occupied with the freezing cold. Flint didn't notice his friend's shivering and seemed completely unaffected himself.

By the time they got to Candice's house, Volkner felt like a walking popsicle while Flint somehow managed to retain his usual energy levels despite the cold. He wanted Flint to hurry up so he could get somewhere that had HEATING.

"HEY CANDICE!!!" Flint hollered, banging on the door. Volkner grumpily pushed him out of the way and kicked the door in. He stomped off past a slightly stunned Candice.

"Uh, what's his problem?" Candice asked.

"Don't mind him, he's just kinda pissed at me right now," Flint explained.

"He didn't have to kick the door in! That's so rude!" Candice said, putting her hands on her hips. Flint walked inside and scanned the room for his friend. Predictably, he was sulking in some corner of the room by himself.

"Don't worry about that Candice!" Byron shouted. He picked the door up and shoved it back in place. "It's not fixed, but it'll work for now!"

"Great! Now let's turn up the music and get this party started!" Flint shouted. He found the stereo system and turned the music up so that it was blasting throughout the house.

"Now that's what I'm talkin' about!" Gardenia shouted, starting to dance. Flint joined her, as well as Candice, Maylene, Crasher Wake, Fantina, and some of their friends.

"Whoo! That's my song!" one of Gardenia's friends shouted.

"I 'ave never 'eard zis song before, but I am liking it very much," Fantina said.

"Candice, what do you have to eat! I'm starving!" Bryon shouted over the music.

"I ordered pizza! Help yourself to whatever's in the kitchen till it gets here! I bought drinks, chips, and a ton of other stuff!" she shouted back.

"Hey Roark, come on and dance with me!" Gardenia shouted, pulling Roark up from his chair.

"Uh, wait a second," Roark said nervously, but it was too late.

"Don't be shy, just go for it!" she shouted. Tentatively, Roark started to dance, and as the song went on, he started to get the hang of it.

Volkner was starting to get some of the feeling back into his fingers and decided to see if he could get a drink. He walked into the kitchen, only to find someone was already in there. It was a young man dressed in a blue suit and hat with a gold necklace around his neck. He had a bowl of ice cream and was casually leaning on the counter behind him.

Volkner ignored him and rummaged through the cabinets for something to drink.

"Hey, what're you looking for?" the man asked. Volkner found the drinks up on the highest shelf and pulled them all out.

"These," he replied. He found a shot glass and poured some hard liquor in. He tilted his head back and tossed the liquid in his mouth.

"Ah," the other man said. He continued to eat his ice cream and watched as Volkner steadily made his way through the whole bottle of liquor.

"Um, is that healthy?" Volkner shrugged and poured himself a glass of Vodka.

"Don't know, don't care." He downed the whole glass in one go and poured himself another. "If I have to stay at this dumb party, I plan and getting drunk till I pass out or die of alcohol poisoning." The man frowned, looking a little worried.

"Why? If you don't like parties, just hang back here. You don't need to be drunk to have a good time."

"Whatever. You want any?" Volkner asked, offering him a glass.

"No," he said, wrinkling his nose a little in distaste. Volkner shrugged and downed the glass, wiping his mouth on his sleeve.

"Suit yourself." The man continued to watch him finish two more bottles of Vodka, another bottle of liquor, three or four bottles of whiskey, and some other drinks he couldn't name. He wasn't sure whether or not he should stop him.

When he finished off the last bottle, Volkner looked around, confused. "Wha? Where's the rest?" he asked, slurring a little.

"You drank it all," the guy said. Volkner turned toward him hopefully. He stumbled over to him in a drunken stupor, and tripped. The guy caught him, thanks to his fast reflexes.

"Y-you, can you get me some more?" Volkner asked, looking up at the man pleadingly. He licked his lips at the thought of getting more alcohol, as long as it wasn't beer. His speech was slurred and he felt kind of dizzy. "I reeeeaaaallllyyyy want some more!"

"Uh…" the guy said, unsure of what to say. He tried to help Volkner get back on his feet, but Volkner just fell on him again.

"Hey, what's your name?" Volkner asked slowly.

"It's Riley," he said, trying to push Volkner off of him. Volkner giggled and pointed at him.

"Riley, you've got a funny hat!" Volkner said, giggling again. He stumbled back light-headedly and nearly fell again. Then he grabbed Riley's hat and jammed it on his head, giggling drunkenly.

"Now I've gotta funny hat!" He laughed like he'd just made the most hilarious joke in the world.

"Erm, could you give that back now?"

"Your Volkner evolved into a Riley!" Volkner shouted happily. "Yay!"

"Volkner, I'm serious. Give me my hat, now." Volkner looked up at him angrily.

"No! My hat now! I'm a Riley!" Sighing, Riley grabbed his hat back and placed it on his head, where it belonged. He wasn't prepared for the fist that came flying at his face from out of nowhere.

He was knocked back several feet into the refrigerator with a crash. The music in the other room drowned the noise so no one came running to see what happened. Volkner pulled him up by the collar of his turtleneck, glaring at him angrily.

Riley brought up a leg and kicked him back, standing up, prepared to fight. Volkner drunkenly charged at him, tackling Riley to the floor.

"Volkner, calm down!" Riley flipped them over and tried to pin Volkner down, but Volkner bit his arm. Caught by surprise, Riley released Volkner and tried to tug his arm away. He succeeded, but Volkner used this opportunity to shove Riley into a chair, knocking both him and the chair back.

"Volkner, really! I don't want to fight you!" Volkner tried to punch him, but he rolled out of the way. Thanks to the alcohol slowing Volkner's reflexes, Riley had time to stand up before Volkner came at him again.

"Fine, if that's the way you want it," Riley said as he pulled a fist back and launched it at Volkner. It hit him squarely in the jaw and knocked him into the island counter. Riley waited for Volkner to get up and come at him again, but nothing happened.

"Volkner?" he asked uncertainly. He couldn't see Volkner's face.

"Volkner, are you alright?" Riley asked. Volkner didn't answer, but he shakily started to stand. Riley stepped forward and reached out to help him up, but Volkner knocked his hand away.

He looked straight at Riley, tears streaming down his face, one hand holding his injured jaw. Riley flinched. He hadn't expected him to cry. Volkner sobbed and gave him this hurt look that made Riley feel even guiltier.

"You hate me, don't you? I-I don't care!" Volkner hiccupped.

"Volkner, that's not true! I don't even know you! Calm down!" But if anything, that made Volkner sob harder.

"I knew it! Well fine! Nobody wants me here anyways! I don't even want me here anyways!" Volkner shouted hysterically. He pushed Riley out of the way and ran for the door.

"J-Just leave me alone! I'm leaving forever and you can't stop me! I didn't like staying here anyways!" Volkner ran out into the snow, leaving a rather stunned Riley on the floor of Candice's kitchen.

The party was still pounding on in the other room, completely unaware that Sinnoh's top ranked Gym leader was missing. It took Riley a full minute to comprehend what had just happened.

"Crap," Riley cursed to himself, getting up. Volkner was going to get himself killed out there.

He adjusted the hat on his head and ran outside after Volkner, hoping he would catch up with him before it was too late.

* * *

I can't believe I actually posted this. I have no experience with drinking or people getting drunk, so sorry if that part seems really unrealistic. I originally planned for this to be a one-shot, but now, I guess not. Actually, I didn't really plan this at all, as you could probably tell. It just kinda..happened. At 2 in the morning. And this pairing needs some more love. Please review and suggest a better name for the story.

This was written for and dedicated to ChessLeChat on deviant art, who posted some AMAZING pics and inspired me to write. Thanks!


	2. Chapter 2

"Volkner!" Riley called out. He was holding his hat down on his head to keep it from being blown away. The snowstorm made it nearly impossible to see anything, and he could barely hear himself over the wind.

"Volkner!" he called again, still pushing on. It seemed hopeless, but he refused to give up. The storm was dangerous enough to a sober person, but it posed an even greater threat to Volkner because he was drunk.

The minutes slowly passed by, and Riley's chance of finding Volkner decreased with every second. He was wishing he had brought Lucario with him. Together they would've had a much better chance of finding the drunk gym leader. All Lucario would have to do was use his aura and- Riley stopped dead in his tracks. Then he hit himself in the head mad at himself for not thinking of it sooner.

"My god, I'm such an idiot!" he said to himself. He promptly sat down in the snow and closed his eyes. Suddenly, he felt soaked up to his waist from the snow. He shivered a little, then tried to put the uncomfortable feeling out of his mind. What he was going to do would take all of his concentration.

He reached inside of himself for the power known as Aura and brought it to the surface. Although he couldn't see it, he knew he was glowing with a soft blue light.

He bit his lip nervously. He hadn't quite mastered this trick yet. He only started learning it a few weeks ago, and it was much more difficult than the other techniques. Reaching for his Aura was easy, almost second nature by now. The difficult part was to let his power stretch so far away from his own body and cover a huge area.

Taking a deep breath, he let his power flow out and away from him. A second later, his concentration broke and his aura dissipated into nothing. He tried again, reaching out just beyond the city limits before his power fizzled out again.

The third time, it reached the edge of a nearby mountain, smaller, steeper, and more dangerous than Mt. Coronet. His fourth attempt failed to make it out of the city, but his fifth attempt came up with something.

Quickly, he closed in on that little blip of Aura on one of the mountains. He was disappointed to find it was only a hiker. He spread his energies out again and detected something else. He focused on the second aura signal and found that it was Volkner.

He opened his eyes and stood up shakily. That technique took a lot of energy out of him. He didn't know how Volkner managed to climb up a mountain in this storm without getting killed, but he'd bet the alcohol had something to do with it.

He held onto his hat and pushed through the storm towards Volkner. He sighed to himself and thought as he trudged through two feet of snow.

All he wanted to do was have some ice cream, some pizza, maybe watch a movie and go home. That's it. Instead he was in a vicious snowstorm looking for a drunk gym leader who was probably going to get himself killed out here.

Idly, he wondered what the others were doing at that moment, and if they had figured out they were missing two guests.

_At Candice's house…_

"Byron, what do you want on your pizza?" Candice asked.

"Olives, Sausage, and Anchovies!" Byron shouted, even though he was right next to Candice. Candice made an "ew" face, but told the Pizza place to get two.

"How about your friend with the blue hat? Riley, right?"

"RILEY!!! GET OVER HERE AND TELL CANDICE WHAT YOU WANT ON YOUR PIZZA!!!" Byron boomed. When Riley didn't come, Byron scratched his head.

"Well, I don't see him. Just tell me what he likes, ok?"

"Uh, he likes those pepper things, I think."

"Right. One large with peppers. Maylene!"

"Pepperoni! And Kim wants the same! Jordan wants cheese!"

"Ok, Flint!?"

"Just gimme everything!"

"Got it! Volkner!?" No response. "Volkner!?" she called again.

"Hey Flint, have you seen Volkner anywhere?" Candice shouted, still covering up one end of the phone. "I need to know what kind of pizza he wants!"

"Nah, he's probably off somewhere sulking by himself! Just get him pineapple, mushroom, and banana pepper!" Flint shouted back through a mouthful of Doritos.

"What!? Pineapple, mushroom, and banana pepper!?"

"Don't ask me! That's what he always gets!"

"Ok, if you say so," Candice said. Flint looked around the room for Volkner and didn't see him anywhere. He shrugged and turned back to the pretty red-head he'd been talking to before. One of Gardenia's friends, probably.

He didn't know where Volkner was, but he was sure he was fine. Probably brooding in some dark corner or something like that. Heck, maybe he'd snuck out and got on a train back to Sunnyshore when no one was looking.

He smiled at the red-head and started telling a story about when he defeated a bunch of water types with only his Infernape.

_With Volkner…_

Volkner panted heavily. He didn't feel cold or wet from the snow, just annoyed at the wind and tired from his climb. He grinned crazily and giggled like a madman. Life had gotten so boring lately, but soon it wouldn't bore him anymore.

He stood up straight and walked to the edge of rocky overhang. As he looked down, some of the rock crumbled beneath his feet. Sharp rocks pointed straight up from the ground far below.

He laughed again, but his laughter wasn't joyful. At least, not in the usual sense. It was a bitter sort of crazed happiness. One of a man who knows he's going to die, but doesn't care anymore. He didn't care about anything anymore. He'd finally reached his breaking point.

He looked straight forward into the storm. He heard something, but it was muffled by the wind, so he dismissed it. Smiling, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

_With Riley…_

"Volkner!" Riley shouted. He could see him now, dangerously close to the edge of the overhang. "Volkner, can you hear me!? Just answer me! Volkner!" The man wasn't responding.

Riley saw him take a step forwards, teetering dangerously at the edge. His heart caught in his throat. He was too far down to climb up and pull him back in time.

"Volkner, look out!" he shouted as loud as he could. He was terrified that Volkner would take another step and fall down to the sharp rocks below. "Volkner! Volkner, get down from there!"

Riley had to squint to see him at all, but he saw Volkner spread his arms out like he was about to fly. Riley couldn't tear his eyes away, frozen with fear and helpless to stop it. Volkner let himself fall forwards, off the edge of the overhang.

As if someone had just used thunderbolt on him, Riley was jolted out of his horrified trance. He sprinted towards the place Volkner would most likely hit ground. For some reason, he thought if he could just make it there in time, he could catch the man and save him.

But Riley was too far away. He saw Volkner hit the rocks. His heart seemed to stop, and he choked, unable to stop the tears welling up in the corners of his eyes. Still, he ran towards him. He climbed through the rocks to Volkner's body.

Volkner was bloodied up and pale, but Riley didn't give up hope just yet. He felt Volkner neck for a pulse, trying to calm down so he could sense it. It was weak, but it was there. Riley sighed in relief, but his relief was short lived. Volkner may be dead yet, but if he didn't do something, he would be.

Riley carefully slipped one arm around his torso and the other hooked under his knees. Then he lifted him up to his chest, carrying him bridal style. Riley could feel the quick, shallow rising and falling of Volkner's chest and heard his breathing.

Carefully, he picked his way through the rock pile to a more level part of the mountain. He continued walking at a brisk pace, trying his best not to disturb Volkner too much and injure him further.

He scanned the area for a cave, or some other kind of shelter. There was no way he could make it back to Candice's house with this storm and with Volkner injured so badly. He would just end up doing more damage that way.

Nearly a minute passed before Riley found a cave they could both fit in. Riley hurriedly carried Volkner inside. It wasn't very big, but it would have to do.

He gently laid Volkner on the stone floor at the very back of the cave. Volkner's shivering seemed to get worse. Riley pulled off his jacket and laid it on him like a blanket. Riley was freezing cold without it, but his first priority was Volkner.

He stood up and focused his aura to his hand. A sphere of blue light formed, illuminating the small cave. Though the cave was tiny, he was sure there were at least a few Golbat lurking around. Seriously, they were everywhere. Sure enough, several flew from their hiding places, offended by the light in their cave.

"Knew it." Riley sent an aura sphere in their general direction, warning them to back off. They seemed to get the message and screeched at him a few times before flying away. Riley called up another aura sphere to illuminate the cave, but there were no more pokémon hiding and waiting to attack.

Riley walked back to Volkner and sat down beside him. He drew his knees up to his chest and hugged them, shivering a little. He watched Volkner to make sure he was alright.

Riley noticed he had a particularly nasty injury to one side of his head. He gently laid his hand on it and summoned up his aura. He didn't have much energy left, and healing was difficult, so he only partially healed Volkner's worst injuries. The rest would have to wait till later.

He pulled his hand back and sighed. He felt so drained. He wanted to go to sleep, but he had to stay awake and keep Volkner alive. His body strongly disagreed with him. He felt light-headed and dizzy. Probably from using up too much energy.

In the end, he laid down beside Volkner, curled up and shivering, tired beyond reason. He wasn't sure whether he fell asleep or passed out. Maybe both. Either way, he was no longer responsive to the world around him, and neither was Volkner.


	3. Chapter 3

Riley was woken up by a soft, strangled sort of choking noise from beside him. He immediately sat up and looked at Volkner. Volkner was convulsing slightly. It took a second for Riley to realize what was going on.

He rolled Volkner onto his side and waited for the man to throw up. Volkner retched all over the floor, mostly bile as he hadn't eaten. The smell alone was enough to make Riley want to do the same. He breathed through his mouth after the smell of vomit hit his nose for the first time, but he still felt queasy.

Once Volkner seemed to be finished, Riley gently scooped him up and moved him over to the other side of the cave. He laid him down so that his head rested on a mossy rock. Riley sat down by Volkner's head, facing the entrance.

He shivered and sneezed twice, finally remembering how cold it was. He drew his knees up to his chest and hugged himself tightly, trying to warm up. He really wished he had his coat back, but Volkner needed it more than he did.

He sighed and looked up at the roof of the cave. For once, he was thankful he was such a light sleeper. Usually, that meant waking up every few hours to common night-time sounds, like those made by Noctowl and Kricketot. Tonight though, it saved Volkner's life.

That choking sound was so quiet, had it been anyone else, Volkner probably would've drowned in his own vomit. Riley shuddered, this time not from cold, but the realization of how close Volkner had come to dying right beside him.

He shook his head quickly to clear it up. He needed to focus on the here and now. He did wake up in time, and Volkner had survived, so there was no point in worrying about it anymore.

Riley sneezed again and rubbed his nose. He was still shivering and cold, so he tried to think of a way to take his mind off of it. He was thinking of doing a few aura exercises, but his reserves were still too low. Some basic stretching and fighting exercises usually would be next on his list, but not only was it extremely cold to be doing that, Riley still felt extremely weak.

This was going to be a long wait. He sighed again and wondered what everyone else was doing now. He really couldn't imagine all that well. Maybe the best course of action here was to try and get some sleep. He rested his head on his knees, but the cold and his own troubled mind kept him from drifting off to sleep.

_A few hours later…_

"Ngh," Volkner moaned, shifting a little. His head felt like it would split in half, he was sore, and whatever he was laying on was hard and ice-cold. Moving made his head spin, and he had this disgusting taste in his mouth. He was all too familiar with this feeling, as he had woken up this way almost every morning. He was hung-over.

"Hmm? Volkner?" someone asked. Volkner opened his eyes, wincing a little at the light. He stared blearily at the person speaking.

"You're awake!" the other guy said, turning towards him. Volkner knew he knew him, he just couldn't remember who he was. At the moment though, his voice was making his headache worse.

"Shut up." The man looked a little taken aback, and maybe a little hurt, but at the moment, Volkner didn't care. He was miserable and just wanted to be left alone. He attempted to sit up straight, but the sudden movement made him feel dizzy and light-headed. It must have shown because the guy put a hand on his shoulder to steady him.

"Careful, don't move too much. You're still recovering from several serious injuries, so you need to-"

"Would you please shut up!" Volkner groaned, pushing the guy off of him. The guy fell backwards, looking slightly stunned again. Volkner ignored him, and waited for the spinning to stop.

"Look, I'm just-" Riley tried to explain, but Volkner shot him a murderous glare.

"I thought I told you to shut the hell up and leave me alone," Volkner said. The guy just sat there, looking at him disbelievingly.

"What's your problem!?" he snapped. The guy looked away and muttered something.

"What was that? If you're gonna say something to me, say it to my face!"

"I said the rescue team should find us soon. You won't be stuck with me for too much longer." The man stood up and walked over to the other side of the cave. He sat down in his earlier position, this time turned slightly away from Volkner.

"Oh god, how long am I going to be stuck here?" Volkner moaned. He shivered and pulled the blue coat more tightly around him, which seemed to help. He was still uncomfortably chilly, but at least he didn't feel like a human popsicle. He didn't know where the coat came from, but it was nice and warm.

He spent the next few minutes trying to control his nausea. His head was still throbbing painfully, but as long as he didn't move too much, he wouldn't get dizzy. He would groan every now and then, and complained once or twice.

Finally, an hour later or so, Volkner started to feel a little better. The pounding on his skull had died down to a mild ache, and he no longer felt like he would throw up any second. Once he ate some snow, that bitter taste in his mouth disappeared. He still felt stiff, chilly, and sore though.

He noticed that his clothes seemed rather bloody, even though he didn't feel any injuries that would cause him to bleed that much. He also slowly realized that his right arm was bent at a funny angle. It looked like it might be broken. Great. Just what he needed.

His stomach growled, letting him know it wanted food, _now_. He didn't really think there would be any food up here, and he wasn't about to ask that other guy.

Just who was he anyways? He remembered meeting him at the party. What was his name again? Riddley? Ripley? Radley? Riley? Yeah, that was it. His name was Riley.

Volkner searched his pockets for something to eat, but all he had was a small pocket knife and his keys. He groaned and pulled the coat around him again. At least he was warm. Who in their right minds would want to live in a city this cold? Ugh. For once, he actually wanted to be in Sunnyshore.

With nothing else to do, his attention eventually turned back to the guy named Riley, sitting on the other side of the cave. Really though, what was up with that guy? Why did he follow him into a cave on a mountain in what looked like a storm? He was a complete stranger after all.

Then Volkner noticed he was shivering. Riley sneezed twice, rubbing at his nose with his sleeve. Volkner felt kind of sorry for him, not enough to do anything about it. Again, he had no idea who Riley was, other than he happened to be at Candice's party. And really, it was his fault for not bringing a coat in the first place. Volkner wasn't about to give up his warm blue coat.

But for some reason, he felt extremely guilty watching Riley shivering and sneezing like that. The longer he watched, the more he wanted to help him somehow. The poor guy just looked so cold. He pulled on his coat a little to keep it in place and tried to think.

Actually, where had the coat come from? Volkner looked down at it and examined it a little closer. It was obviously well-made and expensive, but at the same time, it felt worn and used. It was blue on the outside, but black on the inside. He didn't recognize it very well, but maybe he'd seen it once before?

Then it dawned on him. If the coat wasn't his, it had to belong to Riley. Now that he thought about it, he was sure he'd seen him wearing it last night. He looked at Riley shaking and freezing to death on the other end of the cave. That idiot! Why did he bother giving Volkner his coat if he was just going to freeze to death himself?

Volkner silently stood up. He was a little shaky, and moving made him dizzy, but he walked right up to Riley without the guy noticing a thing. Volkner sat down and pulled his coat over Riley's shoulders like a blanket. Riley jumped at the sudden warmth and looked at Volkner with wide eyes.

"V-Volkner?" he asked. Volkner noticed that Riley's skin and clothes were cold, but that was only to be expected. He shifted a little closer to the guy, hoping to warm him up. He used his left hand to keep the left side of the coat pulled over Riley's shoulder.

"What?" he asked irritably.

"Why are you doing this? You need to rest so you can recover!" Riley said pulling away. "Besides, you wanted me to leave you alone," he said, looking away from him.

"You idiot!" Volkner said, grabbing his wrist before he could move away. Riley looked at him, confused. "You gave me this jacket, right? So I would stay warm while you did what? What were you planning to do, huh? Freeze to death cause you let some idiot with a hangover use your jacket?"

"Well, you're injured. You need it more than I do."

"It's not your fault I'm injured or whatever! That's my problem, not yours!" Volkner pulled Riley back down and draped half of the coat over his shoulder.

"You don't have to freeze to death just because of me." He hesitated for a second, then moved a little closer to Riley. He felt like it was his fault Riley was shivering and cold, and wanted to do everything possible to keep him warm.

"Um, thanks," Riley said quietly, finally giving in. He was exhausted and couldn't think clearly. Volkner really was warm, which also might have influenced his decision somewhat. It felt really good, especially compared to how cold he was before.

"Hey, Riley?"

"Mm-hmm?"

"What happened to me? You said I was injured pretty badly, right? Well, I can kinda tell from all the blood, but how did it get there?" Riley sighed and snuggled up closer to Volkner. Hey, he was cold, Volkner was warm.

"You see, while we were still at Candice's house, we had a little bit of fight." Volkner looked at Riley, an eyebrow raised in surprise.

"Really? You don't seem like the fighting type. What was it about?" Riley laughed, which made Volkner smile.

"Don't judge based on appearances. I think you'd be surprised. As for what it was about, I don't really remember. Anyways, you ran out screaming about something or other, and I had to come out and chase you."

"Hold up, if the storm was still going on, how were you able to find me? I can't see anything but snow." Riley smirked at him.

"Trade secret." Riley didn't want to tell him about his aura unless he absolutely had to. People just had mixed reactions to it, and he preferred to just be Riley at the moment.

"Oh, so that's how it is," Volkner said. He wasn't really mad, but he was rather curious. His tone made Riley laugh again.

"Yeah, sorry. So anyways, when I found you, I think you walked off some kind of cliff."

"Oh."

"I don't know if that was intentional or what, but you hit some kind of rocky patch. I got you there, and carried you up here."

"Yeah."

"You don't sound all that surprised," Riley remarked, watching Volkner for his reaction. He had a feeling there was something Volkner wasn't telling him.

"I'm not. One more question."

"Okay."

"Why did you save me?" Riley looked at him incredulously. What kind of question was that?

"What do you mean?" he asked suspiciously. Volkner sighed.

"Well, if you'd just left me there, then you wouldn't be stuck up here with me. Besides, you don't even know me. So why did you take the trouble to save me?" To his surprise, Riley laughed.

"Volkner, you're the idiot. Why wouldn't I help you?" Volkner was silent for a moment as he tried to think of an answer.

"Really Volkner, it's almost beginning to sound like you don't _want_ to be saved."

"Riley, that's stupid," he replied. Riley, however, noticed the split-second hesitation before he answered and narrowed his eyes slightly. Maybe it meant something, maybe it meant nothing. For now, he would let it be.

"I guess so. So Volkner, what do you do for a living?" Riley asked with a yawn.

"Cause black-outs. Renovate the Gym." Riley laughed.

"Right, I remember now. You're the Sunnyshore Gym leader, right?"

"That's my official title."

"Things been kinda slow at your gym?"

"Mm-hmm. And whenever I do get challengers, I hardly have to lift a finger to defeat them. It's so boring. At least I could spend time renovating the gym, but since last month, I can't get supplies from anyone in the city."

They continued just talking like that for a few hours. They got so caught up in the conversation, they both forgot about being cold, and Volkner forgot any pain he was in. Volkner just felt so relaxed the entire time. Maybe it was just being away from all the stress and frustration? This was the first time he'd laughed in…how long had it been now? Weeks? Months?

Riley fell asleep on him while he was telling a story about a funny accident that happened in the gym. It wasn't that he was bored, he was just too tired to stay awake any longer, and Volkner was just so warm. When Volkner noticed that Riley had fallen asleep, he couldn't help but smile.

Volkner shifted a little, trying his best not to disturb Riley. Once he was in a more comfortable position, he let himself drift off to sleep with Riley held securely in his arms.

Riley was naturally an early riser. He just couldn't stay asleep past dawn. So, it was no surprise that he was the first to wake up. He felt warm and comfortable. He yawned and tried to get up, only to find that something was holding him down.

"Huh?" Riley looked down and realized that there were two tanned arms wrapped around his middle. He could hear Volkner lightly snoring from where his head rested on Riley's shoulder.

Volkner mumbled something unintelligible and snuggled up closer to him, as if he was an over-sized teddy bear. Riley blushed faintly, but he didn't mind at all. Actually, he enjoyed it more than he would've liked to admit.

He looked toward the entrance of the cave and was happy to find that the storm was over. It was all clear blue skies, which meant he could go ahead and carry Volkner back down to Snowpoint City.

He_ could_ have woken Volkner up so they could leave, but he found he didn't want to. After all, he did need a little more time to recover, right?

So for the time being, Riley relaxed and allowed himself to be used as Volkner's teddy bear_._ To keep himself occupied, he worked on some basic aura exercises. His reserves were still pretty drained, but he was feeling much better. Riley smiled as he made a glowing blue orb of energy appear in his hand.

"Ngh…" Volkner was slowly waking up, but he didn't really want to. He sighed contentedly and snuggled up to whatever he was holding onto. Whatever it was, it was nice and warm.

He could hear someone humming which was rather odd, but he was too lazy to think about it too much. Maybe he just left his radio on or something. The song was unfamiliar to him. He listened to it in his half asleep state. Then it seemed end.

"What song was that?" he asked himself sleepily. The thing he was holding onto jerked suddenly, then relaxed again. It seemed surprised.

"I don't know. I heard it somewhere and I guess I never really forgot it."

"Mmm…" he answered. But something didn't click. He frowned a little as his brain slowly worked out the answer.

"Ack!" he shouted. His eyes snapped open as he jumped back and released Riley. His face was flushed deep red from embarrassment. He couldn't believe he'd been clinging to Riley that whole time.

"Huh? Volkner, are you alright?" Volkner coughed awkwardly, still blushing.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine."

"Don't move around so much. You'll just injure yourself even more."

"Whatever." Riley sighed and rolled his eyes. He scooted up next to Volkner again and pulled his coat over their shoulders.

"The storm may be over, but it's still cold."

"Yeah," Volkner said, not really listening. His stomach growled loudly, letting him know it wanted food, and soon.

"Oh right, now that I think about it, we haven't had anything to eat since the day before yesterday."

"Ugh, you wouldn't happen to have any food, would you?" Volkner asked doubtfully.

"Nope," Riley said smiling.

"Why are you so cheerful?" Volkner asked. What a weird guy.

"No reason! But if you're hungry, just swallow this," Riley said, pulling out a blue pill. He dropped it in Volkner's hand. Volkner examined it warily.

"What is it?" he asked suspiciously. Riley shrugged.

"Some kind of soldier pill. It'll give you energy if you haven't eaten and keep you awake and alert."

"And you just carry these things around with you?"

"Hey," Riley said defensively, "there's nothing wrong with that!"

"Right," Volkner said sarcastically. He tilted his head back and popped the pill in his mouth. Then he looked sideways at Riley suspiciously. "I didn't see you take one."

"That was my last pill. I'm all out," Riley shrugged.

"So what are you going to eat?"

"I'll be fine. I don't need to eat much."

"If you say so," Volkner said doubtfully. But hey, Riley was a big kid, he could take care of himself. So if Riley didn't think he needed to eat, who was Volkner to say he was wrong?

"Do you think you're well enough to travel?" Riley asked.

"I guess I'll give it a shot," Volkner said dully. He attempted to stand up, but was hit with a sudden wave of dizziness and nausea that he fell back. Luckily, Riley caught him.

"Maybe not," Volkner said. Riley examined him quickly, obviously concerned. "Riley, I'm fine," Volkner said, a little irritated.

"I know, I know. Here, get on my back." Riley got down on one knee and waited for a rather surprised looking Volkner to get on.

"Wait, what?"

"Just get on my back, I can carry you."

"Are you sure?" Volkner asked doubtfully. No offense to him, but Riley was a skinny little guy who wore expensive-looking designer suits and a gold necklace, and hadn't eaten in quite a while. Volkner weighed about 130 pounds, and they were god knows how far away from the next city.

"Trust me, I know what I'm doing. It's not that far back to Snowpoint city."

"If you say so," Volkner said, still not even remotely convinced. Cautiously, he climbed onto Riley's back, prepared to fall at any second. Amazingly, Riley didn't buckle under his weight.

Volkner wasn't quite prepared for Riley to hook his arms under his knees and stand up. Volkner nervously clung to Riley with his arms around his neck.

"Volkner," Riley struggled to say.

"Yeah?"

"You're choking me," he managed to gasp.

"Sorry," Volkner apologized. He still held on tightly, but made sure to keep the pressure off Riley's neck.

"It's fine. You've got my coat on, right?"

"Yeah."

"Alright, good. I don't want you to freeze out there." Riley started walking out of the cave. It was a silent walk, with Volkner trying to get used to being carried and Riley making his way through the snow with a person on his back.

Riley was backtracking to find the way to Snowpoint City. He had an excellent sense of direction, but after a few minutes, he came to a point that seemed unfamiliar. He stopped and tried to figure out what it was. He was sure he went the right way, but…

"Huh? Riley, why'd you stop?" Volkner asked. Riley didn't answer. "Riley?"

"The road is blocked. There was some kind of avalanche," Riley realized out loud. They couldn't go back this way.

"Now what?" Volkner asked. He wasn't really worried or anything, merely curious.

"I guess we'll have to go the other way. Hold on, okay? You can relax a little, I'll make sure you don't fall off."

"Yeah, whatever."

He was content to relax and be carried, now that he was sure Riley could handle it. He didn't know how, but Riley must be stronger than he looked. His head was throbbing still, but that pill Riley gave him must've been a painkiller as well.

It took about half an hour to get down the mountain. Even though Riley was used to navigating rough terrain, he wasn't used to doing it while carrying someone. He was tired when he finally got down, but it was another fifteen minutes before he said anything.

"Volkner?" Riley asked softly.

"Hn," Volkner answered.

"Do you mind if we take a short break?"

"Why? Is something wrong?"

"No, it's just, I'm a little tired. If you really want to, we can keep going," Riley offered. Honestly, Riley felt like his legs could give out from under him any minute, but he was sure he could make it a little further if Volkner really wanted him to.

"No, that's fine." Riley sighed, relieved. He walked over to a patch of ground without snow by the mountain and gently let Volkner down. Once the weight disappeared, Riley pretty much collapsed on the spot due to exhaustion. He hadn't realized how tired he really was until that moment.

"And you were planning to walk all the way to Snowpoint city?"

"I could've done it," Riley defended. Volkner snorted.

"Yeah, sure," he said sarcastically. "If you needed a break, you could've just said so."

"Just give me a minute or two and I'll be good to go."

"Yeah, okay." Volkner waited a few moments. "Riley, do you have any more of those pain-killer meds?" Riley immediately sat up and looked at him in concern.

"Why? You're in pain?"

"No duh. Why else would I ask for pain-killers?" Volkner snapped.

"I was only asking," Riley said defensively. Volkner groaned. That sharp pain in his torso just wouldn't go away. Riley immediately stood up and scooped him up bridal style.

"Riley, what the fuck are you doing!?" Volkner said, a little confused and very dizzy.

"You need to get to the Pokémon center, fast. I think your body having to bear its own weight again is what's causing the pain. I knew I shouldn't have stopped!" Volkner rolled his eyes, and was trying to think of something to say, but his mind was all foggy. A second later he blacked out.

Riley practically ran to the Pokécenter. It wasn't far away, so he got there in a matter of minutes.

"Nurse Joy!" he shouted. The nurse came running.

"Oh my goodness, what happened?"

"Doesn't matter, just help him!"

"Chansey! Bring in the stretcher!" Nurse Joy called. Almost immediately, the pink pokémon pushed in a clean white stretcher. Riley laid Volkner on it as gently as he could. Then Volkner was carted off by Nurse Joy and Chansey.

Half of Riley wanted to stay and wait for Volkner to get better, but he knew Lucario would be waiting for him back on Iron Island, wanting to know why he hadn't come back. Besides, he didn't even really know the guy.

He needed to tell the others Volkner was alright. Nurse Joy would take good care of him, so he had nothing to worry about. He pushed his nagging concern to the back of his mind and walked to the video phone by the front desk. He dialed Byron's number since it was the only one he knew.

"Hey, it's Bryon- Riley!" he shouted in surprise.

"I brought Volkner back. Let his friends know, okay?"

"What happened? Volkner's back? Wait a sec-" Riley didn't hear the rest of what he had to say because he hung up. His work was done now; he had no real reason to stay.

Part of him wanted to, yes, but he knew he had no real place here. Volkner's friends would be happy to see him alive and well, and he would fade into the background. He liked to look at the positive side of things though, so he walked out of the pokémon center smiling cheerfully, happy to have helped.

When Volkner woke up, the other gym leaders along with Flint were standing around his bed. He sat up and looked around at them all.

"Yay Volkner! You're not dead!" Flint shouted.

"We were so worried," Candice told him.

"Seriously, don't scare us like that, okay?" Maylene said.

"Yeah," Volkner said dully. He looked at them all again and realized someone was missing.

"Hey, what happened to Riley?" Volkner asked.

"He went back to Iron Island. He said he didn't want to intrude," Byron explained. Volkner sighed, disappointed. He at least wanted to thank the guy, but now he'd probably never see him again. And he was just starting to like him too.

Volkner laid back down, only half-listening to what the others were saying. That's when he noticed something. He lifted one arm up above him so he could look at it.

He still had Riley's coat.

Volkner let his arm drop and looked up at the ceiling. He guessed he would just get to keep it, seeing as they would probably never see each other again. It was just a chance meeting with an interesting stranger. Volkner sighed. He would've really liked to get to know him better, but now it was too late…


	4. Chapter 4

_Three Months Later…_

"Finally," Volkner moaned as the meeting ended. Gym leader conferences were so boring. He half listened to the others' conversations.

"My Cranidos has gotten so much stronger!"

"I saw the cutest, most adorable grass-type pokémon yesterday Fantina!"

"My Floatzel is the strongest water-type pokémon there is!"

"Me and Abomasnow just cooked up a killer strategy for the next trainer who decides to challenge us with a fire-type!"

"Yeah, I'm kinda worried about Riley." Volkner looked up when he heard that name. It was Byron talking to Maylene.

"What caused the landslide? Was it a pokémon?" Volkner's eyes widened. Was Riley okay? What happened? Was he in the hospital? How bad was he hurt?

"I don't know, but it's going to take months to rebuild his house, poor guy."

"Where's he staying until then? At your house?"

"No, he refused any kind of help, and even if he would be willing to stay with me, I've got no room."

"What? Then where's he going to sleep?"

"He said he'll be fine sleeping outside. He's a big kid, he can take care of himself. I wish he'd give up some of that pride for once and let someone help him."

"You said no one would take him?"

"He'd never accept. Too much pride or independence or something, I don't know." Byron felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Volkner, who looked pissed off about something.

"Where is he?" Volkner demanded.

Volkner circled around Iron Island on his Staraptor, searching for an idiotic man dressed in blue. It was raining, which made it even more difficult to see. Despite this, he found Riley after only a few minutes, sitting in the rain.

"Staraptor, land over there," Volkner instructed, pointing to an area next to Riley. Staraptor called out noisily and swooped down for a graceful landing. Volkner jumped off and Ran over to Riley, who didn't even notice him. He was hugging himself tightly and shivering. He sneezed and rubbed his nose miserably.

"Riley!" Volkner shouted, grabbing his shoulder. Riley looked up in shock at the blonde man he hadn't seen in months.

"Volkner!?" Then he sneezed again.

"C'mon, you're coming with me," Volkner said, scooping Riley up easily. Volkner was surprised and shot Riley a look that showed it. "Damn, you're light." He ran back to Staraptor who scooped them up on her back before taking off.

Volkner put a hand on Riley's forehead. He was running a fever, and a high one at that. Riley was shaking and sneezing, which wasn't good either.

"You are officially the most idiotic person I've ever met. Possibly even more than Flint." Volkner decided.

"Volkner, I'll be fine, you can leave me there. I can take care of myself." He tried to squirm away, but Volkner wasn't about to put up with that.

"You really expect me to leave you out here?" Volkner asked raising an eyebrow. He snorted at the thought. "Riley, let me explain something to you. When it rains, and people stay out in that rain for a really long time, they get sick. Most often with a cold or pneumonia.

"Volkner, I'm not an idiot. Now put me back!"

"This is your definition of fine? I'd hate to see what your 'not fine' looks like."

"I'm not kidding! Put me back!" Then he sneezed again, but somehow still managed to glare at Volkner.

"Look, whether you like it or not, you're staying with me, and until you get better, you're going to let me take care of you!"

"Fine," Riley gave in. He couldn't think straight and he didn't feel like arguing. He wouldn't admit it to anyone, but he felt miserable. He sneezed again and sniffled. Yes, he felt miserable and disgusting. He couldn't see why anyone would want to be around him like this.

Volkner kept talking or ranting about something, but his brain was too foggy to bother figuring out what. Still lecturing him, probably. He didn't notice when they were out of the storm because he was already soaked. Time was kind of hazy for him. It felt like only seconds had passed when they landed in front of a house.

"Is this your house?" Riley asked before sneezing again.

"No Riley, I'm breaking into this random house I found," Volkner responded sarcastically.

"I was just asking," Riley said in almost a whisper. Volkner heard him though, and felt a little guilty. He pushed the feeling away. He used his foot to open the door and walked inside. Luxray came downstairs just as Volkner laid Riley on the couch.

"Wait here, I'll be right back," Volkner said. "Luxray, zap him if he tries to leave." Luxray nodded and jumped up on the couch. It growled warningly at Riley before laying down by his feet, still watching him closely.

"Great," Riley said to himself. How did Volkner know he was going to leave? He really didn't like having people try and help him, even though he liked to help other people.

Luxray's eyes closed after a few seconds. Riley assumed it was going to sleep. He waited another minute to make sure it wouldn't wake up. Then he cautiously sat up and turned his body so he could stand. He checked on Luxray again once he was up, and sure enough, Luxray was sleeping.

So he turned and walked as quietly as he could away from the couch. He could see the door not too far away. He just needed to get out, and then he could ride Salamance back to Iron Island.

Suddenly, something tackled him from behind, knocking him flat on the floor, face-down. The weight remained on his back. Luxray was sitting on him, looking very pleased with itself. Riley wanted to glare at it for foiling his escape, but he couldn't, so he pouted instead.

He tried to squirm out from under Luxray, but Luxray held him down easily and added a little thunder shock to discourage further struggling. So Riley pouted and gave up on trying to get away. He sneezed again, which startled Luxray into thunder shocking him a second time.

"Oh come on," Riley said. "That wasn't even my fault!" Luxray made a noise that sounded like it was laughing at him. Riley sighed and waited for Luxray to get off him. He could hardly breathe thanks to his stuffy nose.

"Okay, I've got some dry clothes," Volkner said, walking down the stairs. Riley couldn't see him, but he heard his voice, and the laughter that soon followed.

"Please get him off me," Riley moaned.

"Your fault for trying to leave. Maybe I should just let Luxray keep you down there. He seems to be having fun." Luxray purred loudly.

"Ugh," Riley moaned, letting his head fall and hit the floor with a dull thud. Volkner smirked and laughed at him.

"Luxray," he called. Luxray immediately understood what he was being asked and jumped off. Riley sat up in time for something to hit him in the face.

"Go put those on. I've got some cold medicine somewhere around here," Volkner said looking around. Riley pulled the clothes off his face and stood up.

"Where should I change?" Riley asked resignedly.

"Bathroom's upstairs if you need it, but I don't see why you can't just change here. I mean we're both guys. Unless…" Volkner looked at Riley with a smirk. Riley groaned.

"Volkner, I am not, and will never be, a girl. Maybe I just don't like stripping in front of people." Riley started walking upstairs to get changed.

"You sure about that?" Volkner called after him. "I'm pretty sure 'Riley' is a girl's name. And you sure seem fond of that gold necklace there. Not hiding anything under that turtleneck, are you?" Riley finally got annoyed enough to pick up a nearby book and throw it at Volkner's head. The book hit its mark, and Volkner went down. Then he quickly ran upstairs before Volkner could figure out what happened. He found the bathroom and shut the door behind him to change.

He neatly folded his wet clothes, then put his necklace and his hat on top. He shivered and sneezed again before turning to the clothes Volkner gave him. A T-shirt and jeans? Not what he usually wore, but he didn't mind. He pulled on the boxers, jeans, and shirt, then walked back out to the hall.

He was absently nibbling on his thumbnail, a bad habit he had developed. Hopefully, he hadn't hurt Volkner too bad. He was kind of worried about him. So he quietly walked down the stairs to find Volkner. He was in the kitchen, going through he cabinets for something. He seemed alright. Riley felt relieved.

"Oh, hey Riley. By the way, has anyone ever told you that you throw _hard_? And accurately?" Riley blushed embarrassedly. Then he sneezed.

"Well, no. I don't usually go around throwing books at people. I make an exception for you," Riley said with a huge smile.

"I feel honored," Volkner said sarcastically. He turned and shoved a spoon full of some kind of liquid into Riley's mouth. Riley gagged and nearly choked on it. Once Riley swallowed the liquid, Volkner pulled the spoon back out. Riley coughed and tried to recover while Volkner got ready to give him another spoonful.

"Well, I don't usually shove medicine down people's throats with a spoon, but I'll make an exception for you." He waited for Riley to stop coughing so he could give him a second dose.

"I guess I kind of deserved that," Riley said, wincing a little. He braced himself for the next spoonful, but Volkner was nicer this time. He pushed the spoon into Riley's mouth, waited a second, then pulled it back out.

"Yes you did. Now go sit on the couch while I make some hot chocolate."

"Yes, _mom_." Riley walked out and sat on the couch beside Luxray. Luxray looked like he was sleeping, but Riley didn't know for sure. With nothing to do, Riley started observing the place a little more closely. It wasn't a dump, but it wasn't clean either. Clothes, papers, and various objects were scattered around the floor or carelessly tossed aside. There was a huge TV in front of the couch, but it wasn't on and Riley didn't watch much TV anyways

"What are you so smiley about?" Volkner asked, sitting down beside him with a cup of hot chocolate. Riley was startled by his question. He'd been too busy thinking to notice Volkner approaching.

"Nothing," Riley said, still smiling. He sneezed again, and Volkner handed him the hot chocolate.

"Here," he said. Riley accepted it, but then realized something.

"Aren't you going to get some as well?"

"No duh. Just gimme a second. I gotta order some pizza." Volkner left to go do that and make his hot chocolate. He came back with a bag of Doritos and sat on the couch next to Riley.

"What do you want to watch, Riley?" Volkner asked, sounding bored. Riley shrugged.

"I don't know. How about a movie?" Riley suggested.

"Why not. Pick one," he pulled up another list, probably Movies on Demand. Riley wasn't familiar with any of them, so he picked the first one he saw.

"How about Cinderella?"

"How about not? Never mind, I'll just use the random movie option." It ended up on some old black-and-white movie. Volkner skipped that one, and the one after that, but he let the third one play out. Riley caught something about the Mafia, but he was too tired to really follow the storyline.

He yawned, and without thinking, he let himself lean into Volkner. Volkner tensed up at first, then relaxed when he saw what it was. That guy was tired already? It was only, like, 10.

A few hours later, Riley was asleep. Even with his stuffy nose, he just couldn't stay awake. Volkner just watched the movies and let Riley sleep on him. There was no reason to wake him up after all. When it was around 2 in the morning, he finally turned the TV off. All the movies were boring anyways. And he'd seen them all before.

Since he couldn't move too much without waking Riley, he pulled a blanket out from behind the couch. He pulled it over both Riley and himself so he could go to sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

"MORNING VOLKNER!" Flint yelled, kicking the door open with a bang. "YOU'LL NEVER GUESS WHAT HAPPENED YESTERDAY!" Flint walked over to the couch, where he knew Volkner would mostly likely be. Volkner was usually too drunk to make it back to the bed.

"AARON STOLE LUCIAN'S NEW BOOK AND-OH MY GOD!!!" Flint shouted, jumping back in surprise and pointing at the couch. While Flint was used to seeing Volkner on the couch with a hangover, he did _not_ expect to see the man sleeping with him under the blanket.

"YOU SLEPT WITH A _GUY!_ OH MY GOD, JUST HOW DRUNK WERE YOU!? WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED!?" Flint was in front of them now, and somehow, Volkner was still sleeping soundly.

"DUDE, YOU GOT LAID WITH A-" Riley suddenly sat up straight and punched Flint in the face so hard it knocked him down into the coffee table. It was automatic, more of a reflex than anything else. Riley usually would have woken up at the sound of Flint's footsteps coming to the door, but whatever sickness he had caused him to sleep deeper as well.

Riley looked around quickly, surprisingly alert for someone who'd just woken up. He saw someone with a bright red afro lying among some wreckage. Riley winced. He hadn't meant to wreck Volkner's stuff, but the table was cracked in two with a dazed Flint lying there.

He stood up and sniffled a little. He noticed that his nose wasn't as stuffy, which meant the medicine must be working. Shaking his head, he focused on the problem at hand. After all, the guy could still be a threat. He quickly jumped on top of him, flipped him over so that he was face-down, and wrestled him into submission. He used one knee to keep him down, and pulled his arms back behind him, holding them firmly in place.

"DUDE, WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING!? GET OFF ME!!!" the guy shouted, struggling to get free.

"I think not," Riley said, holding him down.

"SERIOUSLY! GET OFF!" Volkner stirred a little at the noise. Slowly, he forced himself to wake up and see what all the noise was about.

"Morning Volkner," Riley said casually. Volkner looked at him, then at Flint, struggling to get free. Volkner couldn't contain it any longer. He gave in to a fit of hysterical laughter. Riley's confused look and Flint's glare only made it worse. Riley couldn't help smiling though. It was nice to see him happy for once.

"Y-YOU! YOU THOUGHT FLINT!?-OH MY GOD!" he managed to say through his laughter. "YOU THOUGHT FLINT WAS A ROBBER!?" He managed to calm down, but was still laughing.

"Oh…So you know him?" Riley asked embarrassedly. Volkner managed a nod. "Oh. Um, sorry about that." Riley quickly got off of Flint.

"No need to be sorry. In fact, you can go ahead and do it again!"

"Very funny! Your _boyfriend_ knocked me into next Tuesday!"

"I really am very sorry about that," Riley apologized. Flint forgot about his anger in the blink of an eye. "And I'm also sorry about wrecking your table. I'll pay to have it repaired."

"No need. I can fix it myself."

"So, Volkner," Flint said slowly with a mischievous look in his eyes. "Did you have fun last night?" he asked suggestively. It took Volkner a moment to figure out what he was talking about, then he glared at Flint darkly. Riley was absolutely clueless.

"What?" Riley asked. Flint smirked at them.

"You know what I'm talking about," he said.

"Quite honestly, I haven't a clue as to what you're referring to."

"Flint, I am 100% straight. Not gay. Heterosexual. I have never been with a guy, and will never be with a guy, and there is no way I would ever in a bajillion years have sex with Riley."

"Is that what he is suggesting?" Riley asked, still smiling brightly.

"Duh," Volkner said. Riley took one step towards Flint.

"Aw, c'mon, I saw you guys this morning, don't deny-" Riley punched him in the stomach, making him double over in pain. Riley was still smiling as brightly as before.

"I'm sorry, but I didn't quite catch that. What did you say?"

"Nothing!" Flint said, dropping to his knees. "Ow…"

"Riley, I think he's suffered enough for one day." Riley shrugged.

"By the way, were you planning on getting breakfast?"

"Duh. As soon as Flint leaves, we'll go to a little café I know down the street."

"Aw, why can't I come? Or are you lovebirds-" Flint quickly cut himself off at the looks he was receiving and at his stomach, which was still very much in pain. "I'm just gonna go now. And Volkner, don't skip out on work. Cynthia's still pretty pissed off at you. She's just looking for an excuse to fire you. Bye!" He quickly left the house, most likely headed for the Elite four's castle.

Volkner pulled on a jacket and grabbed his keys. "C'mon, let's go." Riley followed him out the door.

"Where are we going?" Riley asked. Volkner shrugged.

"That place with the food?"

"Very descriptive."

"I don't know the name of it! I just go there all the time."

"Do you ever eat at home or do you just eat out all the time?"

"I eat at home sometimes!" Volkner said defensively.

"What is there to eat? Chips and junk food?"

"What's wrong with that?"

"It's not healthy. How do you live on that stuff?"

"So? I order pizza all the time too!"

"Wow. That makes such a huge difference."

"It does too!"

"Right. And how often do you eat real food?"

"Pizza is real food."

"It's fast food."

"It's still food!"

"Not the point."

"Pizza is real food!"

"No, real food is cooked, not microwaved."

"What? That's ridiculous. Real food can to be microwaved! And going out to eat counts!"

"Not if it's at McDonalds."

"Why? What do you have against McDonalds?"

"Everything. Their food is inedible."

"No it isn't. I eat there all the time!"

"I can eat a rock. Does that mean rocks are edible?"

"Riley, you're absolutely ridiculous." Volkner opened the door of the café and Riley followed him in. It really didn't seem like a bad place to eat. They sat down at a booth and a waitress soon came to take their order.

"Pancakes!" Volkner said immediately.

"Strawberry crepes," Riley ordered. The waitress left.

"Hey Volkner, do you mind if I get back to work today?"

"No," Volkner said flatly. "You're still sick, as much as you're trying hide it."

"But I-"

"Serves you right for sitting out in the rain like that."

"I would've been fine if you left me there, you know."

"Ugh, let's not start this again. First of all, you're an idiot, and second of all, you're staying at my place whether you like it or not. End of discussion."

"Hmph." Riley sulked a little until the crepes arrived. Then his eyes lit up and he immediately dug in.

"Hypocrite." Riley looked up at Volkner, fork still in his mouth. "You probably eat just as much junk as I do the way you're going for that whipped cream." Riley pointed the fork at him.

"Yes, I enjoy sweets, but I don't eat junk food every meal. This is what we call a _balanced diet._"

"I resent that," Volkner commented. "And my diet has all of the five basic food groups!"

"Really," Riley asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Chips, Pizza, Candy, Ice Cream, and Cake." Riley laughed.

"And that's the important thing, isn't it?"

"Yep."

"Mmm, strawberries…" Riley said. Volkner snickered. "What?"

"Oh nothing, nothing." Riley eyed him suspiciously.

"Right."

"So where do you work anyways?"

"Iron Island. Mostly."

"What do you do?"

"Stuff."

"What kind of stuff?"

"Um, work stuff."

"Like?"

"You know. Work stuff."

"Really? I had no idea."

"Speaking of work stuff, I'd really like to go back to-"

"No."

"But-"

"No." Riley sighed.

* * *

After breakfast, Volkner dropped Riley off at his house and walked to the gym. And Luxray got to make sure Riley didn't leave and go to work anyways. So Riley was left with hours of free time and close to nothing to do.

Riley spent most of the day cleaning Volkner's house and doing laundry. He managed to get in a little work-out time with Lucario, but Luxray forced them to stop after an hour. When 10 pm came around, Riley started to worry a little. Volkner still wasn't back from the gym, so where was he?

Riley didn't get his answer until past midnight. He was dozing off, unable to stay completely awake, but unable to go to sleep. He jumped up when a loud, sudden slam woke him up. He turned to see who it was, trying to clear his mind so he could focus. Flint was standing there, which confused Riley until Flint pulled Volkner out from behind him.

"What happened," Riley asked walking over concernedly. Volkner stumbled and grinned at him idiotically. Riley managed to catch him before he fell. "Volker?" Volkner looked up at Riley, still wearing that stupid grin.

"That's mah naaame, dun wear it out!" he said with a drunken giggle. Flint threw his hands up exasperately.

"Every night! Every freaking night! Why does Cynthia always make ME go get him!?" Flint ranted, walking straight back out and leaving poor Riley very confused with a drunk Volkner in his arms.

"W-wait!" Riley called, but Flint was gone. He looked down at Volkner, unsure of what to do. "Uh…"

"Hey, hey, Riiiiley!" Volkner slurred, tugging at Riley's sleeve. "Riiiiley, can you gimme a…a…" Volkner frowned in confusion. Then he threw back his head and laughed. "I got nooo fucking clue what it's called! Jus-Just gimme one more drink! Pleeaase Riley? Jus' one more!"

"No." Riley answered firmly.

"Aw, c'mon! Pleeeeaaaase!? Jus' oooone more, I promise!" Volkner begged.

"Volkner, I think you're wasted enough as it is. No more."

"I swear to drunk I'm not god!" he slurred, attempting to glare at Riley. Riley dragged him over to the couch, picked him up, and laid him there on his side. Volkner only struggled for a couple moments before giving up. Instead he grabbed Riley's arm before Riley could stop him and hugged it tightly. Riley was forced to sit next to the couch while Volkner went on and on about random things.

Riley leaned against the couch and closed his eyes as he listened to Volkner ramble on. He was just so tired, but he knew he couldn't go to sleep. After a few minutes Volkner went quiet, and Riley felt him lurch. He immediately moved out of the way and stood just as Volkner threw up on the floor. Volkner sat up and bent over still coughing and chocking. Riley rubbed his back comfortingly until Volkner had spilled all the contents of his stomach out onto the carpet. The he let himself fall back on the couch with a miserable groan.

"Here, I'll be right back." Riley quickly grabbed a glass from the kitchen and filled it with water, then rushed to give it to Volkner. Volkner sat up again and drank the water. While Volkner washed the taste out of his mouth, Riley quickly cleaned up the vomit from the floor. He went to throw away the paper towels, and when he came back, Volkner was crying.

"V-Volkner?" Riley asked, rushing to sit beside him and see what was wrong. Volkner was sobbing like a helpless little kid.

"I HATE THIS!" he screamed. "I HATE THIS! MAKE IT STOP!" Riley hesitated, but went ahead and put an arm around Volkner's shoulder's and squeezed gently.

"Volkner, you're going to be fine. Just calm down and-"

"HOW THE FUCK AM I SUPPOSED TO CALM DOWN!? I HATE THIS! I WISH I WAS DEAD!" Volkner flinched at his words, but continued to hug him comfortingly while he broke down.

"Riiiley, pleeeaaase kill me!" Volkner begged. Riley froze and had to remind himself that Volkner was too drunk to realize what he was saying.

"Volkner, just calm down. You need to relax."

"Please Riley! That's- That's all I want! I just want all this to stop! Just-Just do it! Please! Just kill me!" Volkner begged. "I don't wanna do this anymore, just kill me Riley! Please! I don't care how you do it, just make me not here anymore! Riley, I'm begging you!"

Riley choked up and squeezed Volkner tightly, trying to block what he was saying. Riley squeezed his eyes shut and tried to tune him out, but Volkner's helpless pleading still drilled into his head. It broke Riley's heart, even though he knew Volkner was drunk. Then Volkner started to lurch again, and this time, Riley had a bucket. Volkner threw up in the bucket, heaving and coughing for over twenty minutes before finally passing out.

Riley leaned back and sighed, trying to calm down himself. When he could finally breathe normally, he got up and moved Volkner a little so that he would be more comfortable. Then he looked around and found the blanket folded on the chair where he'd put it. He grabbed it and laid the blanket on Volkner. Then he adjusted the pillow so it was under his head. Once Riley was sure he was finished, he laid down on floor next to the couch. He needed to be right there with Volkner to make sure nothing happened to him.

Riley feel into a sort of uneasy sleep. Even though he was exhausted, he just couldn't stay asleep. Volkner threw up two more times before finally stopping, each time passing out at the end. Riley didn't manage to get to sleep-and stay asleep-until that morning, just after sunrise.

* * *

Okay, I know I haven't updated in ages, and sorry for the alerts for chapters you've already read. They're mostly the same with some changes that really needed to be added. And other than my tendency to get bored easily, the other reason it's been so slow is I sat down and did something I never thought I'd do. I planned the story. Not the whole thing, but a good chunk of it. About maybe twenty chapters? Anyways, sorry for the confusion and everything.

Special thanks goes to fadefade, who not only inspired me to write this story, but made an absolutely beautiful picture based off my story! Thank you so much, and here is the link so all of you can see it: .com/art/PKMN-Cableshippy-147192110

Also, thanks to Nutbrain and Ernoma for reviewing! And thank you everyone who favorite or alerted my story! I still can't believe people actually want to read this...

Please leave me a review on the way out. They inspire me and keep me writing. I have a short attention span, but the amazing reviews and seeing the alerts reminds me of the story and keeps me from just getting so bored I stop writing it.


	6. Chapter 6

A rather annoying beeping sound by his ear woke Volkner up that morning. The watch alarm shut off after he smashed the button against the arm of the couch.

"Fuck," Volkner cursed to himself as he sat up. He ran his hand through his messy hair and tried to ignore pounding in his skull. Damn hangovers. He swung his legs over the side of the couch, intending to get up, but he stopped when he hit something. Riley was sleeping on the floor with Luxray sleeping on top of him. He blinked, then got up and maneuvered him way around them. He wasn't going to do any thinking until he had his meds.

Once he downed his pink pill with a glass of water, he stumbled back to the couch and flopped on his back, grabbing a pillow and pulling it over his face. Slowly, his headache began to lessen and he didn't feel quite so nauseas. Ugh. Thank god for drugs. Without them, his mornings would be unbearable. They still sucked, but not as bad. This was about the only time of the day he considered that maybe getting smashed every chance he got could possibly be a bad thing. Maybe.

With a groan, he pulled the pillow off his face and pushed himself back up to a sitting position. Okay, _now_ he could deal with life. Coherently. Ish. He looked back down at Riley and couldn't help but laugh a little. He looked so undignified at the moment, lying on his back, limbs splayed out in random directions while Luxray made herself comfortable on his chest. He leaned over a bit and scratched his partner behind her ear, and was soon rewarded with a contented purring. Volkner smiled a little.

"Morning Luxray. You ready for another day at the gym?" Luxray opened her eyes to roll them and snorted. Volkner laughed. "Yeah, same here girl." He pet her one last time, then got up and stretched. His hangover had pretty much disappeared. Ah, the wonders of modern medicine. "Right then, guess I better get ready for work. You watch Riley while I'm in the shower, okay?" Luxray nodded happily and made herself comfortable on top of her charge.

Volkner went upstairs into his bathroom with a nagging feeling that something wasn't right. He stripped down and started his shower, deciding it was nothing, but when he got out, the feeling came back. He looked on the floor for a towel, and was startled to see nothing there. What. The. Hell. It took him a good few minutes to figure out that his towel was hanging on that bar where you were supposed to hang towels. Still confused, but a little less irritated now that he had his towel, he wrapped it around his waist and walked out of the bathroom. The hallway was _spotless_. There weren't even any stains in the carpet anymore. No dirty clothes, no pizza boxes, no books or wires or tools laying everywhere, no possibly life-threatening obstacles for him to navigate. What the hell happened to his house? He walked down the stairs, using one hand to hold his towel up. Usually he would just look around the house for some clean-ish looking clothes to wear to work, but now that his house was clean, how was he going to find something to wear?

Wait a second. Riley was the only one at his house yesterday. Which meant…Riley cleaned his house? Seriously, what kind of guy spends his free time _cleaning?_ Deciding he could mock Riley about that later, he told Luxray to wake him up. Luxray opted to thundershock him. Riley nearly hit Luxray as he was jolted awake, but Luxray just managed to dodge it. He blinked sleepily and looked up at Volkner.

"Riley, what the fuck did you do with my clothes!?" Riley just stared at him, still exhausted and trying to wake up. When he finally realized Volkner was only wearing a fluffy white towel around his waist though, he immediately flushed a bright red and looked away.

"W-What are you doing down here in just a towel!?"

"It's my house! I can be in a towel down here if I want! Hell, I can walk around here naked if I feel like it." Riley's embarrassed blush grew a little deeper at that.

"Please don't," he asked.

"Whatever, just tell me what you did with my clothes. I've got to get to the gym."

"Huh? The gym? I thought you didn't have to get there until ten? At least, that's how it is in Canalave…?"

"Yeah, and it's 9:55. Your point?" Riley just looked confused.

"It's 9:55?" he asked disbelievingly.

"I just said that. Now where are my clothes?" Riley just gaped at him before shouting something in a language Volkner didn't recognize. He shot up and started frantically pacing and tugging at his hair while muttering in that language Volkner couldn't understand. "Clothes, Riley," Volkner reminded him impatiently.

"Huh?" Riley stopped and looked up from his nervous pacing. "Oh, they're folded in the baskets in the laundry room. I would've put them away, but I didn't know if you wanted me in your room. Sorry about that," Riley apologized sheepishly. Volkner just gaped at him.

"You did my laundry." Riley, however, wasn't listening, and instead darted upstairs, probably to take a shower. Volkner just stood there for a moment, then shook his head and went to go get his clothes on. He changed in the laundry room after he figured out where his laundry room was and where these baskets were. When he came back into the living room in a clean white T-shirt and some jeans, he saw Riley arguing with his Lucario. Well, they were sort of arguing.

"Look, I'm sorry I wasn't up this morning, but I was up late last night!"

_'Doing what!? Riley, you never sleep in this late!'_

"I just had an off-night, okay?" Lucario just narrowed his eyes.

_'Was __**he**__ keeping you up? It's his fault, isn't it?'_

"_Non questa volta!_ Just drop it, okay? It's not his fault, it's mine. I'm sorry I was late, but that doesn't mean you get to blame him."

_'Hmph.'_ Volkner coughed awkwardly, drawing both their attentions toward him. Lucario grunted and quickly left. Riley looked embarrassed.

"Sorry, I don't know what he's got against you," Riley apologized. Volkner shrugged and grabbed his jacket.

"S'okay. You wanna get some coffee? You look like you need it." Riley nodded gratefully. Luxray bounded down the stairs and up to Volkner to accompany them.

"Alright, let's stop by Luke's. Then I gotta go to work." Suddenly, Volkner brought his hand up to Riley's forehead, making him flinch. "Relax, I'm just checking your temperature." Riley blushed and forced himself to not jerk away. "Well, you seem fine, so I guess you can go out and do whatever it is you do today." He pulled his hand away and turned to the door. "Alright, let's go."

* * *

After a tough session of training with Lucario, and shopping for some real food, Riley was beat. He crashed on the couch as soon as he was done putting up the groceries and rested. He didn't go to sleep or watch TV, he just laid there on the couch until he felt like he had enough energy to move around again. Less than an hour later, a door slam startled him out of his daydream. He looked up to see Volkner throw his jacket on the floor and trudge over to the couch.

"Hey Volkner," Riley greeted cautiously. Volkner grunted in response and moodily dropped down on the couch beside him. Luxray immediately leaped up in his lap and curled up, purring happily. She licked his face, then laid her head down to take a short nap. Riley wasn't really sure how to react to that. Volkner turned on the TV and flipped through the channels, obviously bored. After a few minutes of the uncomfortable silence, Riley managed to speak up.

"Anything interesting happen at the gym?" Volkner snorted.

"What do you think?" Riley was silent for a while.

"What would you like for dinner?" He suddenly asked.

"Just order some pizza or something. I don't care."

"No, I meant what would you like me to make you?" That got his attention. Volkner looked at him incredulously.

"What?"

"What do you want me to make for dinner? Italian, Mexican, French, what?" Volkner just gaped at him, making Riley feel a little uncomfortable. "What?"

"You're offering to cook!"

"Well, yeah," Riley said, fidgeting a little. Volkner stared at him for a few more seconds. Then he cracked up, laughing hysterically and pointing at Riley. "What!?" Riley demanded, turning a little red at his reaction.

"God Riley, you're such a girl! You're, like, some kind of wonder maid or something! Like Mary Poppins!"

"W-What!?"

"He cooks! He cleans! He does laundry! It's the one, the only, WONDER MAID!"

"_Stai zitto! _I only clean when I have nothing else to do!" Riley shouted defensively.

"I wonder if this is what it's like to be married…" Volkner said mock thoughtfully. Riley twitched and managed to kick his shin. "Ow! What was that for!?"

"For calling me girly. I was _trying_ to be nice." Riley glared at him while he rubbed his sore shin, wincing a little.

"Fine, fine. Um, I have no idea what to ask for. Just, uh, surprise me." Volkner grinned at him winningly, making Riley blush a little for no reason at all. "But don't be surprised if I don't like it." Riley cocked his head to the side.

"Is that a challenge?" he asked.

"What do you think?"

"I think I better get started," Riley said, pushing a very resistant Luxray off of him. Luxray complained loudly, but Riley managed to get her off and walked into the kitchen. He looked up at the closed cabinets with his hands on his hips, trying to decide what to make. He'd bought strawberry cheesecake for desert, but that wasn't enough. Hmm. Well, he could make up the main dish as he went. Probably involving some kind of pasta. Or maybe some curry? That sounded good. He started pulling ingredients out of the cabinets and setting them out on the counter. Volkner was going to eat vegetables, and he was going to _like_ it.

* * *

"Damn Riley. This is actually really good!" They were eating on the couch, both of them with their feet on the coffee table. Luxray already got dinner from Riley while he was cooking in the kitchen, so she was happy to sprawl across both their laps while they watched the last half of some movie Volkner had been watching. Riley smiled and looked down at his curry, blushing at the praise. No matter how confident he was that Volkner would like it, there was always that self-doubt that lingered. He was glad his hard work paid off though. Well, it didn't really feel like work. He liked cooking.

"Glad you like it," Riley said. Lucario was eating in the kitchen, refusing to be in the same room as Volkner.

"Where'd you learn to cook like that?"

"Uh, I guess I kinda picked it up from all over the place." Riley shrugged and ate another spoonful of curry. He was already on his third bowl. When he got up and came back with another serving Volkner eyed him in amusement.

"Damn, you eat a lot for such a skinny guy."

"I work out a lot," Riley explained. Volkner raised an eyebrow skeptically.

"You? Work out?" he snorted. Riley just shrugged and continued eating. He finished it off quickly and got up again.

"Would you like some cheesecake?" Riley asked.

"We have cheesecake?"

"Yeah, I went out shopping earlier. How did you think I made the curry? Magic?"

"Yeah, I want some cheesecake." Riley retrieved a slice for him, Volkner, and Luxray. He handed Volkner his plate and sat down. He went a bit slower on the cheesecake, taking the time to enjoy each bite.

"Hey, how are things over at the gym?" Riley asked, not really interested in the movie.

"Same as always. Boring." Riley frowned.

"Why is it boring?"

"No one ever comes any more," Volkner said, shrugging. "The few people who do come and challenge me are so easy to beat, it's pathetic." He sighed and looked up at the ceiling sadly. "I haven't had a good battle in months. I've kinda given up on finding a decent opponent. Battling just seems pointless now. But hell, it's my job, and at least I can still renovate the gym…well, now I have to get approval from the city board or some shit like that." He laughed a little bitterly. "I helped make Sunnyshore into one of the most advanced cities in the world, and what do they do? Take away the one thing that can still challenge me and make me happy." Riley was quiet as he listened to this. Volkner seemed to realize what he just said and quickly laughed it off.

"Whatever, I've got Flint, and I've got alcohol, so it's all good." Riley chose not to respond to that. He couldn't help but remember how Volkner acted the night before when he was drunk… "Hey, what about you?"

"Huh? What about me?" Riley asked, confused.

"Your _job._ What's it like, huh?"

"Oh, right. Well…" Riley thought about it for a moment. He really didn't have one, but he didn't really need one either. He had more than enough money to support himself, but he didn't want people to find out about where his money came from. He was rather embarrassed about his background and did his best to keep it hidden, but after a while, Volkner would probably get suspicious about where he was getting his money. Well, he was a sort of trainer.

"I'm a pokémon trainer. Uh, not the gym battle kind though. Sorry."

"So you do contests?"

"…sure." Volkner nodded to himself.

"That explains so much."

"Like what?" Riley asked suspiciously.

"Like how you're all girly and you dress up all nice and crap all the time and how you look like some kind of pretty boy male model." Riley glared at him.

"I'd throw my cheesecake at you for that, but I don't wanna waste it." Riley ate another bite of cheesecake when he realized something. Volkner just said he looked like a model. He nearly choked on his cheesecake.

"Riley? Are you okay man?" Volkner asked.

"Did you just say I look like a model?" Volkner was at a loss for words. Then he laughed sheepishly.

"Well, yeah, I guess I did. But that wasn't a compliment, idiot," Volkner said, rolling his eyes. "I just meant you look like a spoiled pretty-boy." Volkner kept his eyes on the TV as he said this.

"Whatever you say Volkner," Riley said, yawning. He leaned against the arm of the couch, placing his empty plate on the side table. Luxray took the opportunity to make herself comfortable on his lap. He was starting to get used to it.

* * *

A/N: -_-; Please don't kill me. My computer crashed and I totally lost all my files, so I competely forgot what I wrote, and then I had writers block, and I keep getting distracted, and bleh. Short chapter here. I'm going to get started on the next one right away. I have been a bad author, and I need to make up for it. :(

Thank you PiratePenguin666, Ernoma, Fadefade, and all the amazing people who reviewed my story, and I'm sorry for being a bad author. :'( I will try to do better from now on. I don't deserve such awesome readers.


	7. Chapter 7

Riley wasn't sure why he was nervous about visiting Volkner at his gym. He'd finished training with Lucario at around noon, and now he was walking to the gym with a deck of cards and no idea what he was going to do once he got there. He walked inside and quietly shut the door behind him. When he turned around, he got his first look at some of Volker's "renovations." It was pretty amazing.

It didn't take him long to find the alternate route, which was a rather unsafe looking set of black metal stairs that led up to a catwalk. He followed the catwalk through the second room and into the last room, where Volkner sat, sulking in his chair. Luxray was napping on one of the beams. Riley silently walked down the stairs and into the metal box. Volkner didn't seem to notice him.

"Hey," Riley greeted with a wave, which made Volkner shoot up out of his seat.

"Wha- Riley, what are you doing here?"

"I'm here to challenge you," Riley said with a smile. Volkner looked confused.

"Wait, I thought you said you were a coordinator!?" Riley pulled out the deck of cards in his pocket.

"I never said I challenged you to a pokémon battle." Volkner snorted, rolling his eyes, but seemed happy all the same.

"Alright then, I accept your challenge. What type of battle?"

"Do you know how to play poker?" Riley asked. Volkner nodded and grinned mischievously.

"I never would've guessed you were the gambling type," he commented as Riley pulled the cards out of the deck.

"Oh, I'm not. I just like to play cards." He started shuffling them.

"Are you sure that's all?"

"Fairly certain, yes. Cut the cards, I'll deal."

For the next hour, they sat Indian style in the metal box, playing poker, blackjack, go fish, Texas hold'em, and several other games, some Volkner hadn't previously known how to play. And for a guy who didn't gamble, Riley was annoyingly good at poker and most of the other games they played. To Volkner's surprised, Lucario joined them after the first hour. Though he was still cold towards Volkner, and his opinion of him obviously hadn't changed, he at least managed to be civil. Riley and Volkner casually chatted as they played, and Volkner seemed to get a little less moody. Just a little. This was how Flint found them a few hours later.

"Hey Volkner!" he called out, running up to them. Noticing that Volkner wasn't the only one there, he added "Oh, hey Riley." Riley just nodded without even taking his eyes off his cards. "Anyways, you wanna come over to the castle? Aaron got some new songs on Rock Band, and I finally found my drumsticks! I have NO idea how they got in Lucian's room though."

"Will there be alcohol?"

"Yeah, but not a lot. Cynthia thinks you've been drinking WAY too much, so she's limiting how much we all get."

"Damn."

"So you coming? Oh, you can come too Riley, if you want."

"Uh, actually, I'm thinking about staying home tonight…" Flint looked offended.

"Volkner, I swear I will MURDER you if choose getting wasted over hanging out with me. Besides, I think the bar's still getting repaired."

"Damn. I guess I have no choice then. Riley?" Riley was already putting the cards back and shoving them in his pocket. He stood up and brushed the imaginary dirt off his clothes. Lucario grunted and leapt up to one of the high widows. He disappeared through the opening, obviously no longer interested in hanging around with them.

"Hey, where'd he go?" Flint asked.

"I'm not sure. Don't worry about it though. Are we leaving now?" Volkner sighed and got up as well.

"Yeah, alright."

"Yeah! That's what I'm talking about! I'm SO going to kick your ass on Sonic Riders!"

"Whatever." Riley was quiet as they walked out of the gym and to the port where their boat was waiting. He was watching Flint and Volkner curiously. Flint was doing all the talking and seemed very exuberant and energetic. Completely the opposite of Volkner, who seemed bored and a little tired, but Riley could tell he was at least paying attention. The boat ride was quick, and Flint was only too happy to drag them into the castle. As fancy as it looked on the outside, the living room was very…relaxed?

Lucian was reading a book (how novel.) and Aaron was playing some video game on the ridiculously huge plasma screen TV. It looked like your typical bachelor's pad. Cynthia was talking with Bertha on the couch when they walked in.

"Hey guys! I'm back! Oh, and this is Riley. He's crashing at Volkner's place for a while, so I decided to bring him with us." Riley automatically bowed in greeting, then straightened up.

"Nice to meet you Riley," Cynthia said politely. Riley nodded and smiled back.

"Hello dear! I'm Bertha by the way," the older woman introduced herself.

"My name is Cynthia."

"Aaron! Gah! Stupid zombies! Die already!"

"Lucian." Lucian went back to his book.

"And I'm FLINT!" Flint shouted. Volkner rolled his eyes.

"He already knows who you are, moron."

"Well, yeah, but I felt left out…" Flint pouted for a moment before springing back up and shouting "To the Wii!" Flint dashed over to where Aaron was playing and attempted to grab the controller.

"NO! FLINT, WHAT ARE YOU DOING!? I'M ABOUT TO DIE!"

"Oh come on, you've beat that game, like, a bajillion times!"

"Just let me finish this level!"

"You just started this level!"

"So!? Hey, give it back!" But it was too late. His character died, and it was game over. "Oh great! Thanks a lot Flint! What was that for!?"

"We're playing Rock Band, c'mon!"

"I call the green guitar!" Aaron grabbed the guitar in question, completely forgetting about the game he was playing before. Riley stood by the couch and watch them set up. Flint pulled out the drums and started the game, and Volkner grabbed the lightning guitar. Cynthia looked at him questioningly.

"Aren't you going to play?" Riley shook his head.

"I think I'll just watch if you don't mind." Cynthia nodded and turned back to watch them play. Volkner was the only one who played on expert, and he was pretty good at it too. Flint played on easy. He just liked making a lot of noise, and wasn't too concerned about missing notes. Aaron went on hard bass. Riley watched them play a couple songs, idly tapping his fingers to the beat.

"Hey young man, why don't you give it a shot? You haven't played at all yet, and you're supposed to be our guest!" Bertha said.

"No thank you, I'd rather watch."

"Nah, come on Riley! It's fun!" Flint called out.

"Here, you can use my guitar!" Aaron said, practically shoving it at him before he could protest.

"No, that's okay, I don't want it."

"Pleeeeeeease?" Flint begged. Riley hesitated, then finally gave in and strapped on the guitar. Flint jumped up and cheered.

"Fine, I'll play." He stepped up in front of the TV and tried to figure out how to get the thing to work.

"Something wrong?" Flint asked. Riley frowned.

"How do you play this thing?" Volkner looked only mildly surprised, while Flint seemed flat-out dumbstruck.

"You've never played Rock Band!? What about Guitar Hero!?" Volkner got up and walked over to him.

"Are you left-handed or right-handed?"

"Right, I guess. I can use both to write though." Volkner grabbed his left hand and placed his fingers on the correct keys. Then he put his right hand on the black thing that was sticking out and put his fingers so that his thumb was resting on the black thing. Then he stepped back.

"This is the strum bar," he said, pushing the black thing on his guitar down with his thumb. "These are the keys." He pressed a few quickly to demonstrate. "To play a note, you have to press the right key and hit the strum bar at the same time. The green key is kinda like a select button, and the red one's like a back button. Just on the menus though, not when you're playing. Got it?"

"I think so," Riley said, experimentally pressing a few keys and strumming. Volkner nodded.

"Alright then, go ahead and pick one of the beginner songs. Make sure you put it on easy though. I'll help you through the song." Riley nodded. Flint looked at them and shrugged.

"You can tutor Riley while I go get a movie. Oh, and Riley, how would you like a hot date tonight? I've gotta go pick up the girls anyways. I'm sure one of their friends wouldn't mind tagging along."

"Sure," Riley said, not really paying attention. He was too busy focusing on trying to hit the notes as they came across the screen.

"You're forgetting to hit the strum bar," Volkner reminded him.

"Right, sorry about that."

"Nah, you're doing fine. Watch your fingers."

"ALRIGHT PEOPLE, I'M BACK!" Flint yelled. Volkner looked up, but Riley was still concentrating on the screen. He'd almost mastered all the songs on medium, but the rhythm on this one kept messing him up. Flint led four girls into the living room and pointed out the seats. "Hey, guys, turn off the game! It's not nice to ignore your date!" Volkner sighed and turned the game off. Riley was disappointed too, but put the guitar down nonetheless. Then he realized what Flint just said.

"Date?" he asked, confused.

"Are you Aaron?" the short blonde one asked.

"Aaron's in the other room getting food. Riley, this is Ariel, and she has agreed to be your date tonight. Volkner, you're with Cheryl. I'll be right back Liza, I've got to order some pizza." And with that, Flint left Riley and Volkner to their fates. Well, Volkner actually didn't look too stunned. He just walked up to his date, introduced himself, and flomped down on a beanbag beside her. Riley was still trying to figure out what had just happened.

"Riley?" the pretty brunette asked. He snapped out of his daze and looked down at her questioningly. "My name is Ariel, and, um, you're my date, right?" Date. He was on a date. He was surprised but quickly recovered. He bowed towards her politely.

"I apologize for my rude behavior. I was not previously aware that I would be going on a date. My name is Riley, as you guessed." She looked down at her lap disappointedly. Riley cocked his head to the side, confused again. "May I ask what's troubling you?"

"I-I'm so sorry. I thought, well, I thought you knew. But it's okay, you don't have to be my date." Riley sat down in front of her so that they were eye level and put his hand on her shoulder. She looked up and met his eyes, and he smiled at her.

"I never said I didn't want to be your date. On the contrary, I would be happy to spend some time with you tonight. Alright?" She blushed and smiled shyly before nodding. He moved to sit in the beanbag beside Ariel so that the six of them were in a cozy little circle.

"Aw, that's so sweet," the short blonde girl sighed. Riley saw Volkner trying to hide his laughter behind one hand, and was having limited success. Riley gave him an annoyed glare, then turned back to his date.

"Is there anything I can get you?" Riley asked politely.

"N-No thanks," Ariel answered.

"Hey Aaron, did you get the hot Cheetos?" Volkner asked. Everyone looked up and saw Aaron carrying four bowls of various snack-type food items, with Flint close behind.

"Yeah, I got 'em."

"Aaron?" the short blonde girl asked hopefully.

"Yeah?" Aaron said, putting the bowls down in the middle.

"Hi, I'm Katie! You're pretty cute!"

"Really? We'll you're pretty cute yourself. Want some chips?" Aaron asked, sitting in the beanbag beside his date. She giggled and nodded. Flint plopped down beside Liza and opened his soda.

"So, introductions everybody! Tell everyone a little about yourself," Flint said eagerly. "I'm Flint, the awesomest sexiest fire-type trainer EVER and a member of the Elite four! I'm from Jubilife City, I like battling and video games and other awesome stuff, and I'm awesome." Volkner snorted.

"I'm Liza. I'm a pokémon coordinator from Veilstone, and I love all cute pokémon. I really want a Jigglypuff, but they're so hard to find!"

"My name is Aaron, the Bug-type master of the Elite four. I love my beautiful bug pokémon and playing video games. And I like annoying Lucian. It's funny."

"_Everybody_ likes annoying Lucian," Flint said. Aaron just shrugged.

"My name's Katie, and I'm a coordinator too! I love cute pokémon and cute guys. Oh, and I'm from Sunnyshore."

"I'm Ariel. I like swimming and my specialty is water-type pokémon. I help out at the pokémon center sometimes, but I usually help put on shows with my pokémon. I'm from Sunnyshore too. I like anything romantic."

"I'm Cheryl, I work at the Pokémart here and I'm from Sunnyshore. I like playing video games and shopping. That's pretty much it."

"I'm Volkner. I'm from Sunnyshore, I'm the gym leader here, and I like vodka. Your turn Riley."

"Alright then. I'm Riley. I guess you could say I'm a pokémon trainer. Lucario is my partner."

After introductions were made, they all just talked amongst themselves. Katie got all snuggly with Aaron, Flint kept hitting on Liza but was getting absolutely nowhere, and Cheryl was getting frustrated with Volkner not paying attention to her. Riley was a perfect gentleman towards his date and made sure he paid plenty of attention to her.

After the pizza got there, Flint started the movie. Of course it was a horror movie, so the girls would cling to their guys for protection. It seemed to work on Ariel well enough. Riley felt awkward with her clinging to him through the movie. The whole time, he just wished the movie would end so she'd let go. He was NOT comfortable. The only thing interesting that happened was when Volkner got up halfway through to go use the bathroom. When the move FINALLY ended, Flint escorted all the girls to the boat back to Sunnyshore. Aaron had fallen asleep on the floor.

"Flint, what was all that about?" Riley asked, a little ticked with him.

"Oh, every Friday, one of my friends gets a bunch of blind dates for all of us and we hang out. It's like a tradition."

"Okay, but why did I have a date!? I didn't want one!" Flint looked surprised.

"What, you taken?" Riley blinked, then sighed tiredly.

"Never mind. Just don't do that again." He looked around for Volkner, but he was still gone. That was an awfully long time to be in the bathroom. "Flint, have you seen Volkner anywhere?" Flint looked around suddenly, as if he'd just noticed his disappearance.

"Where'd he go? We better find him. You go look that way, okay?" Flint walked out the door leaving Riley to search on his own. He walked down one of the hallways and checked the bathrooms, the training rooms, several other rooms he didn't really know the purpose of, until he finally found Volkner in the kitchen.

Leaning against the counter with several bottles lying around him. Another bottle was in his hand, about three-quarters full.

"_Maledizione._" Riley quickly walked up to Volkner and snatched his bottle away. Volkner attempted to glare at him, but it was rather pathetic.

"Give it back," he demanded, making a futile attempt at grabbing the bottle from him. Riley put it on the counter behind him and turned back toward Volkner. He seemed to be lost in a world of his own and was oddly quiet. Riley crouched down so he was at eye level with the other man.

"Volkner?" Volkner groaned and let himself fall on his side.

"Lemme 'lone." He stared past Riley, looking absolutely miserable.

"Here, let me help you," Riley said, reaching out towards him. Volkner batted his hand away, but Riley was having none of that. He scooped Volkner up despite his protests and walked back to the living room. By the time they got there, Volkner had quit struggling and settled for sulking.

"Flint?" Riley called. Flint was there in just a few seconds. He immediately facepalmed.

"Dammit, how much did he have?" Riley shrugged. Flint sighed. "Well, at least he's depressed drunk instead of crazy drunk right now."

"How often does he get drunk?"

"More than he used to, that's for sure."

"Is there anything I can do?" Riley asked, desperately wanting to help his friend. Flint shook his head.

"The only thing I can think of is finding a trainer who can give him a good battle. He's bored to death and he can't seem to find anything that interests him anymore."

"Mmm." Riley was quiet, thinking about what Flint had just told him.

"Here, just lay him on the couch. I've gotta get to bed. Night Riley." Riley nodded and Flint left. He gently laid Volkner on the couch and sat next to him. Volkner was still lost in his depression, staring up at the ceiling. Riley brushed some stray hairs out of his face, and Volkner finally looked straight at him.

"_Perché fai questo per te?_" Riley asked softly. Volkner looked confused.

"Huh?" Riley realized he'd spoken out loud.

"It's nothing." Riley sighed and looked at blank TV for a while. When he looked back down, he was startled to see tears crawling down Volkner's face. "Volkner?" He wiped the tears off and studied his face carefully. "Volkner? What's wrong?" Volkner shook his head and looked away. Riley gently turned his face back towards him. "Please Volkner, just tell me. If there's anything I can do…" Volkner snorted.

"Yeah right. There's nothing anyone can do."

"There's got to be something." Volkner sighed.

"I just want life to be interesting again. I'm so bored…God, I hate this." Volkner shifted a little and looked up at Riley. "You're not leaving, are you?" Riley smiled and shook his head.

"Not if you want me to stay." Volkner pushed himself up a little to make room. Riley moved to the cleared space and Volkner laid back down, resting his head in Riley's lap. Riley was a little surprised at first, but decided he was comfortable with this. Without thinking about it, he started playing with Volkner's hair.

"Hey. Riley?" Volkner asked a few minutes later.

"Yes?"

"Tell me a story." Riley raised an eyebrow in amusement.

"Aren't you getting a little old for bedtime stories?" Volkner shrugged.

"I like hearing you talk." Riley blushed a little at that.

"Well, alright then. What kind of story would you like to hear?"

"I dunno." Volkner yawned. "Somethin' about you."

"Me?"

"Yeah…" Riley laughed quietly.

"Why? I'm not that interesting."

"Nah, you're very interesting Riley. I wanna know more about you."

"Like what?"

"Like…that stuff you were saying. What language is that?"

"Italian."

"Can you say something in Italian?"

"Well, what do you want me to say?"

"I dunno. Oh wait, tell me a story in Italian!"

"You mean like a fairy tale or a legend?"

"I don't care., I won't be able to understand it anyways." Riley laughed at that.

"You have a point. Okay, let's see…_C'era una volta ..."

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A/N: Okay, another chapter is up. I get the feeling that my writing is getting worse, not better :/ My thought processes are so disjointed =P And I think my writing style keeps shifting as well. I keep adding things that probably don't fit with earlier chapters, and once again, I have no idea where I'm going with this. I think it's a little rushed at times :( Oh well, at least I'm writing again._  
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	8. Chapter 8

I apologize for the inconvenience, but I will no longer be continuing this story. I keep trying to improve my writing, but nothing's working, and I pretty much killed this story anyways. The more I try, it seems, the worse I get. Thank you for bothering to read, review, and keep up with this story. I'm sorry for wasting your time.

This will be my last update on this account.


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